Drug – bio-affecting and body treating compositions – Inorganic active ingredient containing – Boron
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-19
2001-02-27
Pak, John (Department: 1616)
Drug, bio-affecting and body treating compositions
Inorganic active ingredient containing
Boron
C424S084000, C424S405000, C424S439000, C424S442000, C424S489000, C424S658000, C424S659000, C424S660000, C424S682000, C424S684000, C424S688000, C424S691000, C424S692000, C424S724000, C514S951000, C043S124000, C043S131000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06194007
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a method for rodent control, as well as compositions useful in the method.
The presence of rodents near areas of human habitation has been considered a nuisance for quite some time. Generally speaking, rodents are scavenging mammals which forage areas in search of foodstuffs which may comprise garbage and materials which are generally considered inedible by human standards. It is a fact that rodents are carriers of various diseases themselves which are readily communicated to other mammalian species, including man, by direct contact including bites and indirectly by airborne dusts containing particulants derived from rodent feces, saliva, and urine which are known to contain a myriad of pathogens including Hantavirus, Salmonellosis, Pasteurellosis, Leptospirosis, Swine Dysentary, Trichinosis, and Toxoplasmosis. It is believed by many authorities that the Bubonic plague of Europe during the middle ages had rodents as its primary means of transmittal. Today, rodents continue to play this same role of carrier.
Rodents also cause a wide variety of physical damage to human interests, particularly in farm areas. Since rats produce 25,000 droppings per year and mice produce 17,000 droppings per year, contaminated animal feeds are common. Additionally, during their forage for food and nesting materials, rodents cause structural damage to wood and wiring. It has been estimated that a single rat will eat, spoil, or damage $25 worth of grain per year.
Rodents have an enormous breeding potential. It has also been estimated that a single pair of rats and their offspring are capable, under ideal conditions, of producing 20,000,000 young in just three years, while mice reproduce even faster. This breeding potential, combined with the damage potential make it apparent that the presence of just a few rodents can lead to significant damages, in addition to the various health risks.
Accordingly, various methods for control of rodents have been devised over the centuries, particularly for areas in which human population density is high such as in large cities. Of the various means employed in rodent control, perhaps the most widely practiced are those which relate to mechanical traps designed to entrap or kill various rodents and to poisonous chemical substances which are either intended for rodent ingestion or as a deterrent to the rodents owing to the offensiveness of the chemicals. The prior art is replete with both types of rodent control. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,223,231; 3,764,693; 3,816,610; 3,867,546; 3,929,983; 4,035,505; 4,156,714; 4,287,183; 4,520,007; 4,783,481; 4,952,401; 4,992,275; 5,044,113; and 5,720,951, the entire contents of which all are herein incorporated by reference, are but a few prior art patents which are concerned with rodent control.
However, it has been observed in many cases that rodents, owing undoubtedly to their resilience developed through breeding under a wide range of stressful conditions, are quick to develop an increased tolerance for chemical substances that were initially effective as rodenticides. Although the tolerance level developed is dependent upon the quantity and type of rodenticide, the result of increased tolerance is always observed. It is to this factor that the ultimate ineffectiveness of nearly all rodenticides, whether passive or active, can be attributed.
As far as mechanical traps designed to catch or kill rodents are concerned, such contrivances are design-limited to a pre-determined number of possible rodents against which they are effective. In other words, one rodent trap can only catch or kill one rodent at a time without having to be re-set by a human operator. Since rodents tend to breed at high rates, rodent traps are generally ineffective against controlling even modest populations of these animals without constant human maintenance of the traps, with the human presence complicating matters by frightening away the rats to be trapped.
It is apparent from the foregoing drawbacks associated with known means for rodent control that if effective control of rodent populations is ever to be achieved, particularly in areas where rodent population density is high, a means for killing rodents will have to be developed to which the rodents can neither develop an increased resistance, which is not physically limited by design to only being able to catch or kill one rodent at a time, and in which the rodents are not frightened by the constant presence of human beings. The present invention sets forth a new method by which these criteria can be achieved, as well as compositions of matter useful therefor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a fact that in addition to foraging for food, rodents engage in reproductive behavior and nesting activities. The instinct to build nests is inseparably tied in with the reproductive activity of these pests. Whenever a rodent is to have offspring, there will in nearly all cases be a nest.
Rodents have poor eyesight but excellent senses of smell, taste, touch, and hearing. They do not like open areas, and prefer contact with walls and other objects. They do not range far from their nests, with the maximum range for rats being 45 meters and that for mice being 9 meters. Rats are extremely apprehensive about new objects and will avoid them for several days, while mice quickly accept new objects. Both are good climbers. The favorite food of mice is grain, while rats prefer fresh meat and grains. Both prefer to eat and drink every day, but mice can survive several days without water.
The above description is provided to provide the reader an understanding of the importance of conditions under which rodents normally prefer to flourish, and is indicative of preferable nesting conditions. Rodent nests have been found to be constructed of various materials and may be found in various locations provided the above requisites are present.
In general, rodent nesting materials have been found to comprise straw, hay, cloth, cotton, newspaper, cardboard, wood shavings, soft fiberglass insulation, animal hair, or any fibrous material which is soft to the touch and fluffy. It is seen that nearly all materials from which rodent nests are constructed are both absorbent and insulating. It is believed such materials are instinctively preferred, inter alia, in order to keep the young warm.
The present invention comprises placing a special stiff form of glass fibers, (“whiskers”) somewhat reminiscent of cat whiskers, in a vicinity where rodents are known to be populous. The fibrous glass material is perceived by the rodents as being a well-suited nesting material. In order to move the stiff fibrous glass material from its initial location to the nesting site, the rodents use their mouths as a means of holding the stiff whiskers in a secured position for transport. The stiff whiskers are easily fragmented, however, and microscopic slivers of the whiskers fracture and penetrate the inside portions of the rodent's mouths. A local swelling occurs around each site of entry of the slivers of the stiff glass whiskers. This swelling provides irritation to the rodents mucosa to the extent that the rodents find it impossible to eat without encountering unbearable, excruciating pain. Death from starvation ensues in short order. Additionally, it has been observed that when the instant invention is employed as a rodenticide composition and procedure, the rodents generally return to their nests to die; thus the area of infestation is not littered with the carcasses of the dead animals.
Glass has been known for centuries. For purposes of the instant specification and the appended claims, glass may be classified as an amorphous material of varied composition. Commercial glasses may be divided into the soda-lime-silica glasses and special glasses, with over 95% of the tonnage produced belonging to the former class. Such glasses are made from three minerals—silicon dioxide, calcium carbonate, and sodium carbonate.
Fused silica itself is an excellent glass; however, such is rarely used in the pure form as its melting point is
Arnold Mitchell
Pak John
Whewell Christopher
LandOfFree
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